Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. said Tuesday it plans to sell 623,000 vehicles globally in 2004, up 14.5 percent from the previous year.

It aims to achieve this target by aggressively marketing its remodeled Legacy wagon, which is already popular in Japan and Europe and will be launched in the United States this year.

The firm, which makes Subaru vehicles, expects its domestic sales to increase 24 percent to 306,000 units.

Of this total, domestic car sales are expected to rise 5.6 percent to 120,000 units, while sales of minicars in Japan are expected to grow 39.8 percent to 186,000 units, the firm said.

Despite admitting that the yen's appreciation against the dollar and sluggish consumer spending may damage the company's earnings, Fuji Heavy President Kyoji Takenaka said the firm will adopt an aggressive strategy to boost sales.

Takenaka said the company's domestic targets will be achieved by boosting sales of the new Legacy wagon and by banking on the success of its recently released R2 minicar.

The R2, launched in Japan in early December, has already proved popular. The firm had already received nearly 10,000 orders as of Sunday, it said.

The firm expects its overseas sales to rise to 206,000 units, up 1.6 percent from the previous year, following the introduction of the new Legacy in the U.S. in June.

This launch will be the key element of the U.S. marketing strategy, Takenaka said.